The Problem With Daedalus
by Silverskink
Summary: A Mokole's ego is bruised when she perceives her treatment by a somewhat thoughtless Corax ally to be demeaning. She makes an effort to assert herself. Meanwhile, she tries re-interpreting a rite of restoration that could be good for her auto-wrecking business. Please Read and review, thanks :)
1. Chapter 1

**The Problem With Daedalus**

_Chapter 1 concerns events that occurred on a game night, which is why it appears a little random. Chapters 2 and beyond are story based on those events._**  
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****Dramatis personæ**  
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_The following characters are Player Characters, which means that while they are very well defined in terms of behaviour and relationships, they may bend a few stereotypes of the World of Darkness._

_Kate Collins: Shining Gumagan Mokole, child of Volcano. Wrecker, trucker. Usually a young Australian aboriginal woman, occasionally a perentie, other times an oversized armour-plated spiny parasaurolophus._

_Zach Tizonneaux: Shrouded Mokole Mbembe, child of Finch. Brightly-attired copper-skinned youth. Trim archid form appears as a human-sized chameleon with gecko pads. Capable of human speech in any form._

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><p>"That looks like it hurt," Zach remarked.<p>

"Yeah, seriously," I agreed. We were looking over a small selection of wrecks I'd recently acquired. Most of them were older cars in varying conditions, all with plenty of salvageables. The last one was looking very unhappy. The body of the car has been nearly completely destroyed in its latest accident, and was unrecognizable but for the badges. It was quite different to what I usually had in the yard. I'd picked it up on a random whim, based on a rumour I'd heard the previous week.

"Actually, I have a plan for that. I was talking to Esteban and he was telling me about some 'Restoration of Glory' ritual he was working out. He intends to use it to save the rainforests or something. And then, later, I randomly came across this write off and thought, 'Hmmmm...'. So."

"You're going to magic this car back to health? You?" Zach's voice was more than mildly incredulous.

"Yeah, me. Or I won't, and I'll find something else to do with it. Either way, it's worth having."

"Yeah, right. So how's Esteban?"

"Yeah, good actually. Sounds like he's hanging out with some weird crew these days, though."

I was soon to find out how weird.

Esteban was was in contact with us a few days later through Grandfather. The rumours of a vampire threat had been getting increasingly stronger near some Mokole territory, and the time had come to go hunting.

"Esteban assures me he has full confidence in his mentee," Grandfather explained. "However, she is inexperienced. He is hoping some more experienced warriors will be able to join him, to guide the young and provide back up as necessary for what should be a fairly straightforward massacre. Are you willing to help?"

"Of course," I replied.

"I will prepare our departure immediately."

"Do you want me to go and call Zach?" the kid was in the city, 2 hours away. I wasn't expecting him in the yard today. Grandfather shook his head.

"We will leave soon. They require only backup and guidance. You will do fine, Jiba."

Out the back of the yard there was a small metal dingy Grandfather intended to use as the sun boat. I set the boat right way up and gave it a quick dust out. While Grandfather powered the boat, I sat next to him, paddling with an imaginary paddle as he called the strokes. At first it was easy- stroke, stroke, like playing a game. As the ritual 'took', the required effort increased. My imaginary paddle met with resistance. I was working hard, and the sun was becoming hotter and brighter. I toiled under Grandfather's command. The sun was so bright I could hardly see. The boat rocked in the current.

"Stroke. Stroke."

The heat was intense. The current was picking up. I paddled hard to keep the boat steady as it swung around in the blazing light. The waves subsided and we drifted in a current as the rite came to an end.

"Stroke. Stroke."

We slowed and cooled and the scene became visible again. We were now resting on the bank of a swamp. Tall, gloomy trees draped in dangley moss populated a murky waters and countless marshy islands. The air was crowded with the sounds of birds and bugs. Lots of bugs. Huge bugs. Zach would have loved this, I thought to myself. We seemed to be somewhere in the southern states. A familiar man was walking towards us. I stood up and stepped out of the boat to greet him.

"Esteban! It's good to see you!"

"You too, Kate. No Zach?"

"No, Grandfather thought we should get here sooner in smaller numbers than later in larger numbers. It's just me and him," I replied.

"It's just you," Grandfather interjected.

"What?" I said, looking at the old Mokole. He was still in the boat.

"I have other business here today that does not concern you. We are now parting ways."

"What! But... my boat! What about my boat?"

"What about it?"

"I need it!"

"Why?" Esteban asked.

"We're in a swamp," I said pleadingly, looking back and forth between Esteban and Grandfather.

"Are you...not okay?" Esteban ventured, sounding equal parts concerned and confused.

"Methinks the lizard princess does not want to get her feet wet," Grandfather explained. Ouch.

"Ah," Esteban finally caught on. "Right. I forgot that about you, Kate. Er... is that going to be an issue?"

"Not at all," Grandfather cut in for me. "She'll deal with it. Good luck. I will find you when you're done. Goodbye," he finished. He dragged the boat to the water and rowed away.

"Er. I guess I'm okay, then," I told Esteban. "So. Where's your student?" I asked.

"In the trees," he answered, motioning towards the swamp.

"In the trees?" I repeated. I was wondering if I'd misheard. I was shortly introduced to the young Mokole. Ming Li was one of the smallest dragons I'd ever remembered- a flighty young Zhong Lung with the archid form of an Asiatic serpentine dragon and more nervous superstitious habits than anyone I'd ever known. With our introductions complete we started our quest.

Ming Li asked some local alligators if they knew where we might find the vampires, and they pointed us towards the North East. Esteban, although not native to the environment, seemed comfortable enough as a swimming caiman. Ming Li flitted from tree to tree. I was bushwhacking swamp, and hating it.

After several hours hiking we became aware of an unusually large band of alligators forming a swarm around us. I was swimming by now, as there was no where left to walk.

"Er... is this normal?" I called out to my companions.

(I don't think so,) Esteban said. Ming Li also seemed confused by their behaviour.

(They seemed normal enough when I was talking to them...) she said. The water was murky, I was becoming increasingly concerned about what might be lurking around about to take a bit out of me. We were suddenly all distracted by an anguished cry from above us. A naked man, his arms viciously mutilated, fell from a tree in to the swamp a few yards from where we were treading water. As his blood spread through the water the alligators went in to a frenzy, swarming on the sudden, bizarre sacrifice. That was enough for me. Surrounded by manic shark-like alligators and no option for escape, I took the strongest defence I could, hoping like hell I wouldn't get bogged down in the swamp. Moments ago the water had been just over my head, I now cautiously held my head as high as I could while I waded on all fours. I was nearly up to my shoulders in water, but my neck, head, back and tail could easily stay clear. I was able to take steps, to my immeasurable relief, the softness of the marsh not enough to trap me. Waves of displaced water were rushing away from where I was suddenly taking up more space. The frenzied alligators did not seem to notice. I curled my tail around to rescue the victim, gently hooking him under the arms to lift him out of the thrashing maelstrom. As he cleared the surface his body was revealed to end below the ribs in tatters of dripping entrails. Ming Li screamed. I grimaced and dropped the corpse in shock.

(Let's get out of here,) Esteban urged. I didn't have to be told twice. We slogged out of the insanity to calmer waters. The alligators ignored us.

I had previously harboured serious reservations about safely getting through the swamp as anything that could be mistaken for a museum exhibit, but it was working out much better than I'd feared. The water was relatively shallower, for starts. The bugs weren't as noticeable, and I felt I was making faster progress.

Our journey was interrupted by the sounds of a panicked squeak and an excited screech. Ming Li was chasing a raven through the air. The bird was flying smart, but Ming Li was tenacious. After a few furious seconds the dragon appeared with the unfortunate raven in her talons.

(Look what I got!) she bubbled.

"Squawk!" the raven said. 'Squawk'? How nonchalant. The raven was about half the size of the small dragon. I'd seen ravens like that before. I gave the bird a very careful look, peering deep. I was only half surprised to learn the bird was a corax, as I'd suspected due to it's size and nature. I was considerably more surprised to see that the corax was the only actual were-raven I'd met- a punk kid from New York City who owned a pie shop and went by the name Daedalus. He was not making any moves to blow his cover, but every time Ming Li spoke or flew in another circle she squeezed him a little tighter and his eyes bulged a little more.

(I think you better give him to me,) I suggested. Ming Li handed him over with no objection. I threw the bird in to the air, but Ming Li was on him right away. She caught him again, so I confiscated him again, but this time I held on to him.

It was shortly after dark when the undead first attacked. Their numbers were surprisingly small. I barely had time to bag two of them before there were none left. It was a straight forward battle for us- Esteban is not much of a brawler, but his archid form was naturally swift and deadly. Ming Li caught at least one in her snake-like coils. Daedalus I knew had a strong history of really hating stuff, and apparently vampires were high on the list. To avoid the heat of the battle, he hopped up between my shoulders and assumed one of his more human forms to pick off the leaches with a previously concealed, presumably dedicated firearm. Whatever weapon he was using was devastating the undead. I kept my head down, and in a free moment turned on my headlight to fricassee the vampires with my daylight savings. On my command, a gold coin attached to my necklace flooded the battle zone with stored daylight. The remaining vampires screamed and tried futilely to escape as the sunlight ate away their bodies. The ambush was over almost as quickly as it had started. We felt sure this meant we were getting closer to the vampire hideout. No one was seriously injured, so we pressed on.

Daedalus stayed where he was, seemingly preferring to ride rather than be carried or fly in the dark. He nattered almost incessantly, apparently in conversation with Esteban.

Suddenly our party's voices hushed. (Listen,) hissed Ming Li. We froze in silence, but I didn't hear anything. I turned my head and detected a noise behind us.

_(Diem!) _I commanded, activating my sun coin and turning around to shine my light behind our party. There stood three wolves in the swamp, watching us. Hmmm. I heard Daedalus reloading his guns. I glanced around and realized we were in fact surrounded by wolves. Oh. I balanced myself, preparing to fight or defend if the moment came. We were Mokole in a swamp... we were probably at the advantage... but there were a lot of them. The leader of the pack stepped forward, and addressed Daedalus.

"You saved my cub," the wolfman announced. As is transpired, the raven had encountered a wolf before meeting up with us. Furthermore, he'd somehow saved the renegade wolf from vampire influence. The wolves were grateful, and as such, offered to accompany us to the vampire's nest. Daedalus was ecstatic.

"I'm riding in to battle on a dinosaur, leading an army of wolves!" he laughed. "Kickass!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Did he actually say that?" Zach asked. "'Look at me, I'm riding a dinosaur!'?" My story-telling groove faltered mid-grin.

"Uh, yeah," I said, trying to remember exactly what Daedalus had said. "It was so funny..." I laughed, but suddenly it sounded forced. Zach wasn't finding the story as exciting to hear as I was hoping, and it was becoming difficult to keep interesting. In my memory, Daedalus's excited cries amused me the way a laughing baby amuses an adult, and I still found it funny, but I was unable to rekindle the spark in the story. I ploughed on. "So, we found this crazy warp in reality or something, and busted through it, and wiped out massive amounts of vampires hiding inside. And when I say 'we', I mean 'I'. I was taking them out left and right with the assistance of my private sniper looking out for me."

"Standing on your back? Sounds like he was looking after himself!"

"Meh, you would think that, you creep. We can't all be tiny sticky-footed super-stealthy guerilla types. Some of us are more 'Guns a-blazing', the way Volcano likes it. We can totally wipe out a hoard working together. Any I don't get on the first run through and my sacral plexus doesn't get on the follow up, Daedalus headshots. Boom!"

"I see," Zach said thoughtfully.

"Mm." _Look at me, I'm riding a dinosaur! _I had thought the raven and I were fighting as a great team, but now I began to wonder if he was using me as a prop for his own awesome ego trip. I briefly reflected on the battle. He had ignored most of the directions I tried to give him- I thought at the time it was the overwhelming distraction of the battle and my own ineloquence. I didn't think he was just ignoring me. There had been a few times where he'd patted me on the neck or the shoulder and told me I was doing a good job. Again, at the time it had seemed like a high-five, but now it seemed like a dog biscuit. As the things he'd cried in battle rang in my memory, I tried to recall anything team-related, but all I could really remember was Daedalus relating how much he was enjoying the whole experience. With a sinking feeling I wondered if Daedalus regarded me the way I regarded Garou- handy in a fight, but otherwise stupid, inferior, manipulable and at worst disposable. The revelations fell on me like rain drops, but I paused only for a second.

"So. Anyway. We cleared the nest and then we were done. While I was on my way to meet Grandfather I had a really nice long discussion with Esteban about this Restoration Of Glory business. I'm hoping I can get your help for some of it."

"Oh? What do you need?"

I tapped the book I was holding and opened it to the title page. It was a bible. On the inside cover was written a message under a short verse.

_Dear Wayne_

_It was through hard work and sacrifice that your grandfather Issac Goldstein built his business, and it was through his devotion to our Lord that he built his character. Today, we benefit from his hard work, his successful business and reputation. We must not forget its foundation. Trust in Christ, keep the Lord close. Good luck at University._

_All my love, your father,_

_Jeremy Goldstein, June 1988_

"Why are half the pages missing from that bible?" Zach asked. I looked at it.

"I dunno. I found it like that. Anyways. I think this car was a graduation present for someone. I found this message under the bonnet with the spare. Part of the Restoration Of Glory is to revisit the history of the subject. So. I can find out when it was sold and when it was written off, but I don't know anything about anyone who owned it. I thought, you're smart and sneaky, you know how to use computers and stuff, maybe you could help me out? The first one should be easy, I think his name was Wayne Goldstein."

"I'll see what I can do. I don't think I can promise too much. Is there anything else you need?"

"Yes, but not from you. Esteban says the ritual would require an appropriate sacrifice, a tribute to heritage, and a passageway. I personally like fire as a passageway. I was hoping you'd help me with the ritual set up once we are ready to go."

Zach's eyes lit up at my words.

"A sacrifice? Who are you going to sacrifice?" he asked. I was sure he meant 'what'.

"Er, I have a van I restored and was going to sell, but I thought I'd use it for this instead."

"You'll need more than that," Zach insisted. "You're trying to bring something back to life. That's going to require a blood sacrifice."

"What! That's messier than I was planning. No way!"

"I'm serious. You'll want a goat or a llama or something. You can do some amazing stuff if you spill enough blood..." He gave a wicked grin.

"I don't think that will really be necessary..." I said, slightly disturbed by an insight in to Zach I hadn't seen before.

"Don't worry about it. I'll plan something for you and you'll change your mind when you see it, I promise. Any preference for sacrificial victim?" he asked. I gave it a moment's thought.

"If you insist... a bull would probably be appropriate."

"Right. Sacrificial ritual and subject history sleuthing, check and check," Zach listed, finally returning to his normal tone of voice. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to see if I can get some fireworks advice."

The door of Karnej Mansion opened grandly to reveal an aged servant with a haughty expression. "Yes...?" he greeted, drawing the word in to a sneer as if I'd already lost his approval. I put on my biggest grin.

"G'day! Would Mister Karnej be in?" I asked with excessive cheerfulness.

"Who shall I say is calling?"

"Kate Collins, Wrecker, Rememberer. He knows me."

"If madam would be as kind as to wait here," the butler coldly offered, showing me in to a nearby trophy room.

"Cheers."

I waited a very short time, glancing at the mounted hunting trophies and other paraphernalia in the room. Max certainly knew how to make an impression on his visitors.

"Vhat do you vant?" came a rough voice from the doorway. I turned to see the soldier standing with his hands on his hips and a stern look on his face. The garou cut an impressive figure- every move was made with confidence of a soldier and the precision of a surgeon. Max was used to getting what he wanted, and not afraid to work for it. I'd had some fun fighting alongside him in the past, as well as occasionally beating him up for my own amusement. What I really enjoyed about the Austrian was his 'Governator' accent.

"Hi Max! Good to see you too!" I babbled. "I had a few things I wanted to ask, but first I wanted to thank you again for patching me up after that whole exploding van thing. Want to see my scar?"

"Get to your point, Kate."

"Okay. I'll ask the simplest one first. Can I borrow your Lamborghini?"

"No." Max's answer came with absolutely no hesitation. I was not surprised or disappointed.

"Aw. I thought you'd say that. Okay. Number two: Do you know a way I can get in touch with Pete Townsend?"

Max's poker expression did not give anything away, but I hoped his silence did mean there was at least a 'maybe' to be negotiated. "You don't find a Ninja, he finds you," the garou replied.

"Actually, I have a good Ninja. It's a demolitions consultant I'm looking for. I thought he might be available for hire or other negotiations."

"I cannot say," he stated obliquely.

"Ah, well. I understand. You sure you don't want to lend me your car?" I tried optimistically. I knew what the answer would be, I was just trying to be a bit more annoying before I ran out of excuses to hang around, or got kicked out. Max's eyes narrowed.

"Vhy did you come here?"

"I'm Shining! I like to do things in person. You can't test the Clutch by phone. Plus, I was hoping you'd give me your car. Nevermind. I'll be on my way. Thanks anyway! Hasta la vista, baby!"

"Do not come here uninvited," Max warned. As I passed him in the doorway, I paused and faced him. He was much taller than me as a man, with a very imposing stance. I looked the wolf in the eye and grinned broadly at him.

"Whatever you say, sir," I replied.

I was stuck in traffic driving back to the junk yard after visiting Max. I leaned on the wheel between short jaunts, taking a repose from my usual road rage, my head instead full of ritual planning details. I wondered what Zach had in mind. A flurry of movement on the bonnet of the truck snapped me back in to focus. A large raven was standing there at eye height, peering through the windscreen. "Kate?" it croaked.

"Daedalus?"

"Mind if I hop in for a moment?" he asked in a perfectly normal human voice.

"Not at all."

The raven flapped away and returned a few moments later, diving straight towards my open cab window. With hardly time to swear I sat back in my seat and breathed in as he folded his wings and bulleted in to the cab and managed somehow to brake safely.

"Bloody hell!" I gasped. Sitting in my passenger seat was a man no more remarkable than any other mohawked pie shop owner, looking as cool and composed as if he'd been sitting in traffic as long as I had been.

"Thought I recognized the truck. Where're you on your way to?"

"Just home," I replied. "What's up?"

"We're not too far away from a raid. There's a crack house down on Modra street which recently went from ordinary bad to supernatural bad- a bunch of vampires moved in and made themselves comfortable. Got time to come and help out?"

We parked outside an abandoned hospital and walked around the block. The building was decades old, dating back to the good old days when asbestos was not yet considered a bad idea. Our target was an abandoned convent on the opposite side of the block. The double storey building was large and faced the street, difficult to attack from the front without drawing a lot of attention. The heart of the operation was around the back of the building, behind a windowless wall that met a courtyard on the grounds of the old hospital. "It would be really easy to get in there if we could knock that wall down," Daedalus pointed out to the pack of wolves. It was better to see some of them than others- Varel was an unpredictable character but reliable in a fight, I never understood why he followed Max. Max, who somehow made it to the hospital before me and did not smile when he saw me. I waved cheerfully.

"Must be your lucky day!"

Weston, another wolf I did not know very well, Will, a renowned idiot, and Tiger Lilly, a very young Garou who for some reason made something in me really irrationally ragey. I suspected the perentie in me did not like the wild wolf in her. I tried to ignore her.

The Renegades, as usual, did not have much of a plan past 'bust in, destroy everything in sight'. I actually enjoyed their fighting style. We were assembled in the courtyard of the hospital discussing our plans, backup plans, and emergency back up plans. There were no innocents on this run, the attack would be Take No Prisoners. So far we'd come up with, 'break down wall, shoot anything that moves'. I took my largest form and paced around the courtyard a bit to get a run up for cracking open the convent. The Garou got out from under my feet and readied themselves to follow me in. Daedalus flapped up between my shoulders again, and started whispering what I quickly figured out were actually lyrics. I charged at the wall, and he started to shout.

"_All! Hell! Can't stop us now!_"

I slammed in to the wall with my shoulder, cracking the bricks inwards with a dent twice as long as a man. I stumbled a bit as I bounced off the wall, my shoulder protesting. "Use your body!" Daedalus shouted extraneously. "_All! Hell! Can't stop us now!_"

(Yeah, I figured that out already, thanks,) I grumbled pointlessly at the bird. I took a second, shorter run, but hit the wall with my armoured flank. With a shower of bricks and dust I crashed in to the lair, and the battle began.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"It was great. We caught them totally by surprise, they had no idea what hit them. The best part was when we'd almost wiped them out, they tried suicide bombing us as a last resort," I grinned. "I totally copped it. I saw what they were doing and just dropped between it and the Renegades. They blew out the inside of their building, not a one of us ever singed."

It was a week later, I was back at home catching up with Zach and Warren and the progress they'd made with the ritual preparations.

"Maybe you should be a little more selective about who gets saved," Zach said.

"Haha, yeah... although we have all in the past helped each other out... it never hurts to be owed a favour."

"Is Daedalus still treating you like a pony?" Zach asked. I had omitted that part in the version of events I'd just given him.

"He doesn't treat me like a pony!" I objected.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'."

"What's this? Or shouldn't I ask?" Warren asked.

"Kate's picked up an admirer. He thinks she's the coolest battle mount ever," Zach filled him in. I immediately corrected him.

"Pfft. Kate's been in a lot of successful fights recently, and has been helped out by a sniper who stays close. Zach thinks Kate is being used as a prop. Zach is a sneaky concealing spy, not a warrior, and does not know the first thing about battle dynamics." I impartially summed up.

"Hey. Some days you're the bird, some days you're the statue. All I'm saying is that it seems to me like Kate is never the bird, and Daedalus is never the statue."

"Blah blah blah. What have you got for me about the car?"

"Ah, right. Warren's got the history-"

"Right," Warren began. "The car was given to Wayne Goldstein by his father, brand new in 1988 as a graduation gift. Apparently Wayne did not get he car right away. The key was hidden in a bible given to him as a gift, and it was his girlfriend that found it two months later when they were packing up to go to university. Wayne partied hard at university and eventually dropped out. His father was disappointed, and took the car back. He sold it to Henry Dennison in 1990. Dennison was your classic mid-life-crisis sports car customer. He crashed it sand sold it damaged in 1993. Harvey Norman, a mechanic, picked it up, fixed it up and sold it later that year. It was bought by..." he turned the printed page over "...Roger Duxton, who was some kind of organized crime guy. In 1995 he lost the car in a poker game to George Desault. Apparently George really loved the car, he was quoted as saying 'Driving it is better than sex... in fact, just sitting in it is better than sex'. He took really good care of it up until 1999 when he split with his wife. She got the car. Her name was Jodie, she never ever let her new husband drive it. Jodie wrote it off 18 months later in 2001. Again it got picked up as a fixer-upper by a guy called Felix Chalmers. Felix sold it to Giuliano Abadasore, famous racehorse owner and alcoholic. It was badly written off by him and finally sold to Kate Kookaburra-Collins, mechanic, monster, etcetera etcetera."

"Wow. How'd you get all that?" I was very impressed.

"That's an excellent question, Kate," Warren replied with a flawless imitation of a prominent newscaster. "For this story, we turn to correspondent Zach Tizonneaux. Zach?" Warren continued talking, but switched to his brother's voice. "Snooping. The internet. Phone calls, interviews, magic. It's amazing what people will say if they think they are talking to a reporter or a biographer. Especially if they think they recognize the voice." Warren grinned.

"That's excellent! Thanks so much! This is going to be great. What have you got, Zach?"

Zach unfurled a large map on to the table. The detailed sketch was clearly of the junkyard. The sheds, shack and dam were all marked. In the middle of the trashed cars between the sheds and the woods on the far border of the property was as complex diagram. He pointed out the positions of Theodorus, the restoree and the sacrificial victims. "What's this?" I asked, indicating a large mass surrounding the main area.

"That's the pyramid," he replied.

"Wait, what? Pyramid? What pyramid?"

"Of course you need a pyramid! How can you have a blood sacrifice without a pyramid? You need a pyramid," Zach explained. "We'll build one out of wrecked cars. We only need about 180, give or take."

"We have to stack 180 cars in to a pyramid? No! What? No! We can't do that! I have to stand here somewhere," I said, pointing to the centre of the scene. "I can't stand on a tower of cars and sacrifice a victim! I'd be too heavy for one or too small for the other. No pyramid!"

"What if it wasn't a pyramid?" Warren interjected. "What if it was just like... Stone Henge or something? Can we make a ritual area that isn't a structurally unsound hazard masquerading as a stable platform? I nodded vigorously at his words. Zach frowned.

"I guess so...but you still need an alter, no question about that," he insisted.

"Yeah, that's more the scale I was thinking," I agreed.

"Okay. I've located a bull who's been retired from the stud and is ready for the dog food factory, cheap. I told them we could come and pick it up- that's not going to be a problem, is it?"

"You haven't dropped that idea then, I guess," I said unenthusiastically.

"What bull?" Warren asked.

"Guess what I discovered last week? Turns out, Zach's an AZTEC. Did you know that? I didn't," I explained to Warren.

"You can laugh if you want," Zach said simply. "But-"

"Over a thousand years of successful sunrises and human sacrifices can't be wrong!" I cut in. "People say my disregard for humanity is poor. I think you got me beat."

"-We have to sacrifice a bull for this to actually work," Zach answered Warren.

"You're actually going to kill an animal for this?" Warren was looking a little green.

"No, Kate is."

"Whoa! Wait a minute! You're the expert!" I protested.

"It's your ritual. If you want it to work, you'll have to do it."

"Okay, fine. I mean, let me think about it." I quickly reconsidered.

"...You're an Aztec?" Warren was giving Zach a very strange look.

"Ah, that was not fair of me." I conceded. "He's actually a reptilian monster _descended_ from the Aztecs."

"Do you want to hear the rest of this, or not?" Zach was getting snappy. I nodded and grinned. He went on to explain the importance of the orientation of the alter and various other details. My mind wandered as he droned on and on. I got so bored I started reading his map. My eyes crossed the notes he'd made about the direction the alter would be facing, according to the sun and moon. A wire crossed with another thought in my brain I'd been processing in the background about where I pictured the ritual taking place, and an idea unexpectedly sparked.

"Come out side, I have an idea," I interrupted. I curled up the map and led the brothers out the back of the property. On the far edge of the yard the property backed on to a bit of bush. We still had land to dump wrecks, we hadn't made it out this far yet. On the opposite side of the yard was the dam. Where we now stood there was a small hill with a large rock outcrop facing away from the road. It was not easily seen from the front of the yard. We were getting in to the bush, which meant reasonable privacy. "Could we use this as a pyramid? I'm pretty sure I can stand on this." I ran to the edge of the outcrop and opened up the map. "Yeah...if I'm reading this right, we can put the restoree down there..." -I looked at the basin below the rock- "And I can get up and down from here safely," I pointed at the gentler slope of the hill alongside the outcrop. "If I'm reading this right... we can sort of set up your pyramid around this, right?"

Zach inspected the map, and looked around the yard at his planned orientations. "I guess... everything lines up okay. How're you going to get Theodorus down there?"

I pointed at the dam. "There's an old driveway in to that paddock on the other side of the yard. We will have to clear some way, for Theodorus and the restoree, but it shouldn't be too bad."

"Are you sure you can stand on this without it collapsing?" Zach asked. I looked at him.

"One way to find out..."

After testing the stability of the rock, we started dragging cars around. We laid the restoree on the ground at the foot of the outcrop. Layers of lesser wrecks were used as bricks to build a spacious tomb around the remains of the car. Once we had constructed a case, we used extra parts to roughly accentuate a stepped pyramid-shape face for the structure around the front of the hill. The top of the mess formed the alter, the sacrificial van itself part of the design. Warren drove the van from the front of the yard, and Zach and I placed it on beams holding it directly above the restoree. I looked at the van and drummed my fingers on the roof. (You know, this would be a lot easier if we could open this up like a sardine tin. Do you think you can do that? Or should we go get some tools?)

(Maybe,) Zach answered. He dragged his claws over the exposed rock and scuttled on to the roof of the van. After a few seconds examining the roof, he lightly scratched out a geometric design. (This pattern is balanced, traditional, and should allow good drainage. How does that sound?)

(Good enough. You're the expert.)

(Hold it steady?)

I gripped the van as he stickyfooted around the edge, cutting in to the roof. The metal screeched as he tore it apart. Somewhere near my knee I heard Warren gasp softly. I smiled to myself. When he was done, Zach shook his hand flexed his digits. (Ahh.)

(Wow, nice job.) The van was neatly sliced, ready to be dissected. I pried open a flap experimentally. A black-clad ninja sprang out of the van on to the roof and in an instant had delivered a powder bomb directly to my face.

"HYA! Ninja-ed!" he cried as I spluttered dust.

(Hi Shade...) I slurred as the world went dark.

I woke up feeling like I'd been asleep for a week. My head was foggy, my neck was stiff, and my limbs were in various states of pins and needles as I'd been lying on them. My face was in the dust, and the rest of me was strewn back up the hill as gracefully as a train wreck. I struggled to get to my feet and lumbered to the dam. I dropped in to the water to give my face a wakeup wash, and heard Zach's voice. (About 20 minutes, I think.)

(Oh,) I mumbled. I spotted the alligator camouflaged near some reeds on the edge of the dam. I guessed it was Zach. Sometimes I'm not sure how many dam alligators are around. (He's a better ninja than I remember. Did you know he was in there?)

(No, neither did Warren, apparently. Want to hear something funny?)

(Funnier than being poisoned by a lunatic ninja? Do I ever!)

(He got your face but not your sacral plexus. When you wandered over here your front half was struggling to crawl in a straight line but your back half was perfectly balanced. Test your tail, see how it's doing.)

(Uhhh...) I picked up a stone and threw it over my shoulder. My tail instantly flicked it back at me, smacking me in the head. I had been intending to catch it with my hand, but I didn't have a hope. (Ouch! Haha, that is funny...)

(Watch out for Warren. He caught your tranquilizer right after you did, I concealed him in the pyramid before I disappeared.)

(Oh, okay. Uh... see ya...)

I held my hands off the ground and let my sacral plexus do the driving the short distance back to the waiting garou. The ninja was standing silently on top of the van on top of the pyramid, his feet apart and his arms crossed. I kept my distance and gave a low, unamused growl. Then I let my dinosaur go and looked up at him with a big smile.

"You're getting very good at those dramatic entrances," I remarked. "I take it you got my message?"

"You need something blown up," he replied. "What is it? An evil office block? An evil school? An evil orphanage?"

"Actually, you're standing on it," I replied.

"This? You want this exploded? This will be easy. There won't be anything left!"

"Ah, it's more complicated than that. We want an explosion that is visually spectacular but not terribly destructive. Then we want what's left over to burn hot and fast."

Shade's expression became thoughtful. "You don't want it to explode too much, but you want it impressive. Have you considered fireworks? Pretty colours, pretty boom, easy to come by..."

When it came to planning the Bang, it quickly became clear that recruiting Shade had been a great idea. We discussed the best fuels to use, and how to plant them in the vehicle to that they would detonate in order at the ceremony and not like a cracker factory on fire.

"What are you doing all this for, anyway?" the wolf eventually asked.

"Secret Mokole business. We could tell you, but we'd have to 'commit you to memory'," I replied with mock dramatism.

"No, seriously."

"Yes, seriously!"

"You..." Shade trailed off, not actually delivering a threat or an insult.

"I'll tell you if it works," I offered.

"Ha. Right."

Shade returned the following day with a complete inventory of appropriate materials. We carefully planted them in to the van, and were finished the task by late afternoon. He also bought news of another upcoming raid.

"The Renegades are soon planning an attack on an undead territory. They would appreciate any assistance their Mokole allies would be able to afford."

"Is 'allies' the new 'cannon fodder'? I'm sure we can help. When's this happening?"

"They are currently gathering intelligence and expect to have the location soon. They will be in touch when they are making plans."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

It was only a few days later we were driving behind Max's hummer on the way to the raid. Shade and the Renegades were packed in to the military vehicle, Zach and I enjoying the more spacious ride Theodorus offered. We were travelling far out of state to some wilderness area to meet Daedalus, who had finished the initial scouting mission.

"You guys are really bringing in the serious firepower!" he said as we all assembled. "Okay. It's been hard to tell how much is here as they are staying undercover during the day and even at night can be difficult to find." He went on to explain how we had to hike a way to the site of the vampire's nest. It was in the site of a mining town abandoned for the better part of a century. The road was as good as non-existent, but fine for wolves.

"Any hikers, campers, or anything?" I asked the bird.

"Not likely. There are a few other parks around here, none of them particularly popular. This ghost town would probably be a great spot for adventure-seekers, but no one seems to know it exists. It's very hard to find on this side, but in the umbra it stands out like a crow in the snow. They have some kind of vampire voodoo on it making it easy to miss."

"Does it strike anyone else as odd that these vampires are trying to hide so far from a city?" Zach pointed out. It seemed like a good point to me, but no one had an answer.

The Garou had switched to wolf form for travelling through the bush. I found archid better for bushwhacking. Daedalus grinned excitedly. He flipped from homid in to his flight-capable war form and flew up to my shoulders.

(Are you making a nest, or what?) I asked as he busily shuffled around directly behind my field of vision. (Won't you be flying for this?)

(It doesn't look like it,) Zach commented. I frowned, and avoided eye contact with Zach.

"Alright, perfect!" Daedalus announced as he finally settled down. "Let's go!"

Daedalus and I followed the wolves through the forest, easily picking paths over obstacles that would have slowed a lesser biped down. The sun was getting low in the sky when we began to approach the old mine site. "Whoa, whoa," Daedalus called. Varel was giving a warning, and the group knew to trust him. We stopped moving and the raven took to the air and then the umbra to try and detect the threat. Within a few moments he reappeared. He described the mine site ahead of us- a semi-collapsed shaft cut in to a mountain, the remains of an old track and a few buildings, and the monsters. "They're undead, but they're not vampires. They're like zombies...but...they're weird. In the umbra they look like part of the earth. They're attached to the ground."

"This whole place is cursed. How many are there?" Max asked.

"Lots. More than us."

"Right." In a few quick movements, Max had drawn his guns and readied them for the battle. "Let's go."

Varel spent a few moments explaining the concept of undead and the finer points of head crushing to Tiger Lilly. As the night set in we attacked the band. The wolves loped through the ruins and set upon the undead. I followed close behind. I loudly announced to our foes in very simple language that I would shortly be destroying them. Somewhere behind my head I heard somebody cackling with elation.

"This is so awesome!"

I ignored the bird. I stormed in to the fight. The garou were out numbered but holding their own- Varel was rending everything in sight, Lilly not far behind. Max and Will stayed clear of the fray, providing cover fire from the edge of the clearing. Over their heads I could see a monstrous, ogre-like zombie shambling up behind them. I glanced back at the battle-as if expecting to see Varel needing help- and then lunged in the direction of the shooting garou to intercept their attacker. Coming along side them I dove my head downwards and

(GLK!) suddenly choked as something drew tight around my throat. I lost my balance and fell forwards, in the same instant hearing Daedalus squawk and tumble from his perch and the resistance on my throat release. I crashed heavily on my wrists right in front of the two wolfmen.

"Vhat the-!" Max cried, hauling his weapon skywards. Will's shot glanced off my not-so-armoured face- a fraction lower and I would have caught it.

(Ah! Lookout!) I groaned futilely. The monster behind them suddenly came in to view over Max's shoulder. I gritted my teeth, pushed myself back to my feet and tried to strike at it over their heads, but I was not fast enough. It bought a heavy limb down on Max, who collapsed like a tree. I planted my hands on either side of the fallen garou and slammed my head in to the monster. With a loud crack it snapped backwards and splattered on the ground. It didn't look like it was intact enough to still be a threat, so I eased back to check on Max. He was lying on his back, looking dazed.

(Uhh...) I was useless at assisting the wounded.

"I'll be fine, go get them," he urged in a pained voice. I quickly surveyed the forest to make sure there were no more monsters. This was probably as safe a place as any. I turned back to the fight.

The zombies were horrific in their mindlessness. They were clearly not creatures of rage like us, and the soullessness chilled me. They attacked with little strength and no self-regard, and although they outnumbered us significantly, it was not a long battle. As the last fell we gathered to plan. Max was still lying on the ground. A shallow pool of blood had formed. He would not be fit until the morning, so we decided to set up a camp. Not wanting to take any chances with midnight zombie attacks, I figured a tree was a good place to sleep. I slunk down to my suchid form and was promptly clobbered in the face by a long length of rope. (What the hell!)

(Talk to Daedalus,) Zach smirked. I grumbled and reverted to my most talkative. Almost immediately I noticed my necklace drawn against my throat like a choker, weighted down on my back by about twenty feet of rope.

"Daedalus!" I hissed. "What's this!" I fed the necklace around so that the attached rope was at the front, and started untying the knots. The raven hopped out of the darkness and perched above my head.

"Oh that? Reigns. So I have something to hold on to," he explained.

"Daedalus! That was _you_ choking me! Dammit! Don't do that! This was a gift from an Elder!" I scolded, holding my jade necklace forward. "And my sun coin is on here! Don't tie stuff on here!"

"I'm sorry, I thought it was a collar. It looked a lot bigger when you were a dinosaur. I thought, 'Well isn't this handy? Garou should also wear collars!'"

"Don't do it again!"

"I won't. Can please I have my rope back?"

I dropped the rope on to the ground and went back in to my own tree to sleep.

We each took a turn watching during the night. By morning, Lilly had spoken to some locals to get a bit more history on the area. The local wildlife was a little sketchy on the specifics, but the area including the nearby ghost town had always had a turbulent undercurrent. There had been battles with natives, battles in the civil war, and some kind of devastating illness before the town finally closed for good. "She says, 'the earth here is restless. Things have always been strange here'," Varel translated. "She doesn't seem to have it any clearer than that from her sources."

"It's damn freaky in the umbra, I can tell you that much," Daedalus added.

"So... no vampires?" I asked.

"No, but something else has started stirring up the energy around here, and it's attached to the town somewhere."

We had camped not too far from the town, and waited for the raven to scout ahead before resuming our hike. He shortly returned with a report.

"The town really seems deserted. There's no people or zombies. But, there's a really old track out of town that heads towards a ravine. Near the edge of the cliff there's an old town cemetery, and there's a guy in there who seems to be setting up some kind of rite."

"Necromancer," said Max. "No zombies?"

Daedalus shook his head. "I didn't see any, which means there's none."

"He vill be most vulnerable vhile he is engaged in his vork. Ve must take him out before he completes the rite." Max instructed. Everyone agreed with this reasoning.

When we reached the village, it was clear we were too late. Thunderclouds were gathering over the site of the cemetery, and great arcs of sickly silver and green light flickered in the sky. We ran towards the graveyard, crashing through the branches and undergrowth.

There stood the necromancer silhouetted in a globe of white-green light. Tendrils of energy snaked from where he stood like an expanding river system. They crept to the edges of the area, netting the graves, flooding the yard, and streaming over the cliff where they flourished in the ravine below.

The group paused, unsure of what to do. I stood in awe.

"Where's that idiot Shade?" Zach suddenly asked. Right on cue, Shade sprang out of a pile of screen we had overlooked as a grave, right next to the mage.

"HYA!" He shouted, stabbing the necromancer in the throat. "NINJA-ED!"

The necromancer gurgled a scream, falling to his knees and then the ground. Stark red spiderwebs suddenly appeared in the tentacles of green light and burned sharply for a moment before the entire river turned a pallid murky grey. No longer appearing to be made out of light, the tentacles ripped in to the earth and blackening sky. The ground churned like water alive with feeding sharks. Corpses spewed out of the earth, up heaved by the writhing magical forces. The earth and air tremored and thunder rolled. As the necromancer's power molested the dead, their forms began to mutate. They grew spines and claws, horrendous bulk or gangly limbs, each more grotesque than the last.

Zach and I exchanged glances. The rumbling earth finally crumbled and the cliff gave way, taking the party, graveyard, and a lot of the forest with it. In the rush I heard the wolves yipping and cursing as we plummeted downwards. As I scrambled madly to find purchase in the avalanche, I caught a glimpse of the canyon we were falling in to. For as far as I could see, it was boiling with grey green tentacles thrashing amongst a sea of mist and the rising dead.

(Aaaaaaaaugh...)

I figured smaller was better for surviving a slide, but as soon as I felt it start to level out I was thundering out of the way of falling rocks, hoping no one was under my feet. The floor of the valley was dark and murky, I was up to my hips in a creepy mist.

(ZACH!) I screamed. (ZACH!) My voice echoed deafeningly in the tight canyon.

"You're easy to find. Ouch. Are you injured?" A familiar voice floated down from above. Daedalus was drifting overhead. I didn't think I was badly injured, so I shook my head, as the party's chatterbox spoke no Mokole. The bird landed on my back.

(ZACH!)

"Ah! Is that really necessary? I'm going deaf! I'm sure you can shout a little quieter than that," the bird nattered. I growled in response. "Okay, whatever. Hold still." I had turned around to go back to the rockslide. I paused. Daedalus darted in front of and back over my face, looping his rope between my jaws and then drawing it back like a bridle. He drew it snugly at the back of my head and then secured it by looping and tying it around my crest.

(I am going to kill you,) I rasped.

"Don't worry, I didn't tie it to your collar. Now I can tell you which way to go!" Daedalus explained.

(Your death is going to endure in the memory of Mokole for the next one hundred million years, and even when your species is extinct no one will pity you. ZACH!)

"Kate, zombies!" the bird warned. He shot at the lurching forms that had suddenly lurked out of the darkness. I swept around and crushed them across the rocks with my tail. Their bodies splintered and crumbled. I could vaguely make out more approaching from deeper in the canyon. I was torn between fighting them off and going back to find Zach. _Zach's adaptable_, I reminded myself. _He might not be in too much trouble_. Daedalus chose for me. He wrenched the reigns, turning us back towards the heart of the canyon.

(What about – finding survivors?) I gagged and stumbled forwards. The rope was cutting in to the corners of my lips.

"Hey! Cool! That worked!" Daedalus shouted, oblivious to my words. "I can steer you!"

(Of course it worked, you bastard! You try walking in a different direction than you're looking! Argh!) We took another step in the direction of the zombie hoard. I was trying to direct my sacral plexeus to override Daedalus's steering when I felt my body freeze. No lack of balance or carry over momentum, the whole world silent like a photograph. Except for Daedalus. He called out in surprise.

"What? What are you doing?" He jerked on the reigns but I couldn't move. Suddenly a light appeared before us, as warm and bright as the light of the sun. Within the light I could make out a majestic spirit looking very solemn. I tried to blink, but couldn't.

"Warrior, my time here is very short, and my powers are severely depleted. We must act quickly. Tell me, what is your name?"

Daedalus sprang up and flapped over my neck and crest, still holding my reigns. He landed on my snout to address the spirit at eye level...my eye level. I watched as he lightly dug his claws in to my face to keep his balance.

"Daedalus Mandarke, Corax. They call me Nines."

"Daedalus. The power of this place has been awakened, but the binding has been interrupted. It is no longer within my power to stop the legions of undead. Only you can save the world. Do you have any companions?"

"I do, but I've lost them!" the raven cried. _**HEY**__!_ I silently shouted. _Curse this petrification! _

The spirit was visibly wavering and fading. "We don't have time to find them, you must work alone. Take this," he said, handing the corax a short, heavy-looking stick. "It's a weapon of light that will be instantly fatal to the undead abominations. Channel your spiritual energy in to it to enliven it," the apparition instructed. After a short moment I heard Daedalus gasp.

"A lightsabre!" He exclaimed. I caught a few glimpses of the brightly burning blade as he swung it around. The weapon sounded surprisingly identical to the star wars weapon, until I realized the bird was probably making the noises himself.

"Alas, I can offer you no more, as the night closes in on me," the spirit moaned. "Go, my child, with this weapon you shall be able to free the land of this curse. Let the light guide you..." he faded from view. The darkness returned and I was moving again. Daedalus had not let go of the reigns that were secured to my crest, and was now somewhat harnessed in a standing position on my face. I swung forwards towards the zombies, and Daedalus leaned outwards with the sword. It sliced through the monsters like a knife through flour, reducing them to piles of dust.

"This is the most BADASS EVER!" Daedalus shouted elatedly. I forsook language for an archid bellow of pure bloody rage.

We charged through the basin, destroying the evil like a tidal wave at a beach. The undead fell in droves at the touch of the weapon, and the mist cleared as we cleansed. Gifted with such a weapon by a entity of limited strength, I dared not break our run lest our power expire. On and on we slogged. Finally, after hours of storming and charging and mist and dust we made our way back to the rockfall. I started calling for Zach again. We crested a rise in the floor of the canyon to see the garou in the remains of the fading magic fighting off the last of the zombies.

(ZACH!) I cried. All unengaged heads turned to us as we strode in to battle. Daedalus gloriously smote the remaining zombies as I waded through them. The garou backed off as we passed, most of them looking awed to my utter disgust.

"Ah-hahaha! _Bvvvvvvroom! Bvvvvvvroom_!" There was no stopping the corax. As the last zombie fell, the blade of the sword arced a giant lightening bolt in to the thunderclouds above. They blazed blindingly white with a deafening crack like heaven was splitting open. Instantly the dusty remains of the zombies flared like lasers in to the clouds. The clouds roared, surged, and finally, unable to contain themselves, dissipated with a giant shock wave. We were left in the silence that followed with an overcast day in a totally mundane canyon.

"Whooooohoooooo!" Daedalus crowed.

"Did you just destroy the zombies with a light sabre?" Varel asked in awed tones.

"Yes I did!" the raven gloated. "I totally just saved all you guys' asses!"

I gave my head a violent shake. (GET OFF MY FACE!) I snarled. The bird squawked indignantly as he was flung off, but quickly recovered and flew safely to the ground, leaving the ropes tied around my head.

"Thanks for the ride, Katie!" he called. He gave me a wink, and I swear he grinned, despite being beaked. I stormed towards the rubble.

(ZACH!) The conversation being carried out in the background drifted over.

"There were about two thousand of them!"

"There were not. There were about four hundred at most."

"She said last night the traditional name was 'Valley of Five Thousand Dead"

"That was so awesome, when you came over the hill riding on that roaring dinosaur..."

"I'd say there was about two thousand... it was full, and look at how big it is..."

(ZACH!)

(Kate! It's okay! I'm okay,) the chameleon appeared out of nowhere. He glanced at the footprint-shaped bruises on my nose and the ropes tied around my head. (What happened to you?)

(Don't ask. Can you please get this rope off me?)

"Zach! Did you see that? I totally just killed ten thousand zombies with a lightsabre from God!" I was crouching with my chin on the ground so that Zach could remove the massive tangle of rope. "With Kate's help," the bird hastily added, catching my eye.

"I think you better fly away before I finish here, Nines," Zach remarked.

I related my version of the events to Zach in our private language while we dug Max out of the avalanche. The garou was alive and healing despite being trapped. My bruises had all healed but I was still feeling furious and disinclined to rejoin mammalian classification. However, I had spent a lot of energy and was getting hungry. Too lazy to hunt and not trusting prey in a cursed environment anyway, I opted to be a not-so-terrible lizard. The garou, having healed their numbers, were ready to leave the canyon.

(Do you have any food?) I asked Zach.

"Not here," he replied.

(Are you wounded?)

"I wasn't doing very well for a while after that rockfall, but now I think I'm okay."

"Oh." The garou were taking their most impressive supernatural forms to climb back out of the canyon via the cliff face. It was very steep. (Can you give me a lift up the cliff?)

"You don't want to ask Daedalus?" Zach teased. I sighed, and the chameleon laughed. "For a thing without lips, you are doing a wonderful job of pouting. Yes, I can give you a lift."

The consensus of the group was that hiking to get out and away was far preferable to camping anywhere near the town. The hour grew late and then early. I needed my dinosaur to keep up with the wolves, but I was running very low on fuel and needed a lot to keep going. I made no objections when we finally decided to camp. As I fell asleep in my tree I watched the waning moon between the branches. _Not long now._


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

I felt when I got home I would be overwhelmingly busy with preparations for the upcoming ritual, so the first thing I did was curl up on Theodorus's cab and take a nap. The sun warmed me beautifully. I let myself drop deeper and deeper in to a doze, forgetting the Now, getting lost in the Then. The air of the breezeless day felt warm when I breathed. I sighed contentedly.

"Greetings Koori," a woman's voice said.

I opened my eyes. I was sitting on a sandy hill in a desert. A Koori woman- like me- was standing in front of me. I stood up and replied, "Greetings to you too, Koori."

She smiled warmly. "Do you have a question?"

"Yes," I answered.

"Walk with me," she invited, offering me her hand. She helped me up, and I followed her over the dunes. "Do you know the story of Jyadabni?" she asked.

"Of course," I replied.

"Do you remember Jyadabni?" she asked.

"No."

"Do you remember a time we did not tell the story of Jyadabni?"

I thought about it for a moment. "No."

We walked over a sand dune's crown, and I immediately noticed opposite us a grand temple half-buried in a sand dune across the way. It had huge stepped sides and a long stairway leading up to the top. I heard an echo of a jaguar, the faintest breath of forest mountain air, the shadow of a chameleon someone one day might remind me of. I had memories of this place, these were not them.

"After seven centuries, the Aztec empire was founded in 1300 by your mother's calendar." the Koori said. We had not stopped walking, and we quickly passed the half-buried temple. Small clouds of sand caught in desert winds ghosted over the dunes as we made our way onwards. Ahead of us a dark shape was visible on top of a dune. As we approached, it appeared to be a wolf, but I soon realized it was a statue of a wolf. It held its head low but its eyes and ears were alert, the beast seemed to be reacting to a perceived threat. As we passed it by, I noticed it was a she-wolf, and under her body squatted two nursing human infants. I regarded the wolf's stare. _Wolves._

"The legend of the founding of Rome was two thousand years before then," the Koori said. In our wake the winds rushed in to further bury the statue in sand.

We continued on under the sun crossing the desert. Soon we came to another pyramid, this one the same colour as the sand, huge, and steeped.

"The pyramids are two and a half thousand years older than that," the Koori continued. "And the Egyptians were over two thousand years old when they built them"

We passed the pyramids and were now walking through a desert cemetery. We were surrounded by rows of upright stones. When I looked closely, I realized they were not tombstones, but statues of men. An army of statues, half buried in the desert. They were worn and damaged, barely recognizable as human forms. The later rows were missing members, and finally there were no more statues, only a few fragments of terracotta.

"Over four thousand years before then, humans in China were moving towards tools and artwork. That's about ten thousand years ago," the Koori surmised. "Do you know how old Jyadabni was ten thousand years ago?"

"Yes," I answered, turning back to look at what we'd passed. "Thirty thousand years old."

"Of course you knew that, you're Mokole," the Koori said. She turned and looked me in the eye. "Why did you let him stand on your face?"

I blinked and the scene changed. I was in a warm forest. It didn't matter that I hadn't had a chance to ask the Koori for advice about the ritual. That conversation would be happening in a few million years, I'd have time to ask her then. That stuff didn't matter now anyway. Now I was an Allosaurus, and I was stalking aRhoetosaurus. I was excited because I knew the hunt was nearly over. The hardest part was coming up, but it was also the most exciting part.

Suddenly, the Rhoetosaur turned, looked straight at me and smiled. "For someone who looks like a hadrosaur, you really are in touch with your inner carnosaur, aren't you?" she laughed. "How're you feeling?"

"Ah, pretty good, since you asked," I admitted.

"Tell me about it," the sauropod prodded.

"Well... for starts, you're right, I do think this is a good look for me." Allosaurus was a bit smaller and faster than my dreamed-up archid, and wasn't weighed down any armour. This particular allosaur had been a wicked combination of dark reds and blacks, which I thought was fairly impressive. "Also, I'm a friggin' Allosaurus, and you're a slow-looking Rhoetosaurus, and I think that if we're about to fight, I'd win. Although to be fair, you're pretty mature and fit-looking for a sauropod, you've probably won a few fights. Let's say I'm eighty-five percent confident. Having said that, I'm pretty sure this is not your run-of-the-mill predator-prey encounter, and there's a lesson lurking here somewhere. I am hoping I manage to catch it." I reflected. The Rhoetosaur leered at me.

"You want to fight?" Her confidence was confronting.

"Er... Allosaurus says, 'maybe?' If that's what we're supposed to do..." I replied uncertainly. She laughed again, warmly.

"No, we don't have to fight. You're cautious about dealing with me because..?"

"You appear to be a formidable opponent," I answered.

"That's right. I'm a dinosaur! You don't rush in to a fight with a dinosaur! Am I right?"

"Right," I echoed.

"You respect a dinosaur! Right?"

"Yeah," I could see where this was going.

"We command respect! Would you let that guy bag you out?" She demanded, nodding at a rat hiding under a tree.

"No!"

"Of course not. Would you let that guy take credit for something you did?" She went on, indicating an amphibian flopping in the mud.

"No!"

"Would you give that guy a free ride?" She asked, and I looked straight at a jet black archeopteryx. It's mischievous golden eye stared straight back at me.

"NO!" I shouted, and then "Aaaargh!" as I was suddenly falling. (I didn't get my advice!) I shouted angrily as the trance slipped away. I landed on my back, in Theodorus's mighty shadow. I flipped myself the right way up and stalked back in to the sun to catch the rest of my nap. (Some meditative conduit you turned out to be,) I grouched at the truck.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"This is going to take forever," Warren said.

"Not really," Zach replied. "You don't have to be that careful."

"It's like...washing a bus!"

"You know that just because she doesn't speak English, she hasn't stopped understanding it, right?" Zach hurriedly said.

(Meh,) I said. I wasn't bothered. I was really secretly waiting for Warren to put his foot in his mouth so I could have a laugh.

"I thought dinosaurs were deaf?" Warren said questioningly.

"What?" Zach asked, in a puzzled tone. "How do you think we communicate?"

(Yeah? And how come we're such good singers?) I pointed out.

"I thought it was just...like... magic or something," Warren answered Zach. We both laughed at the human, who protested that it wasn't an unreasonable assumption given that they were currently a) painting a dinosaur in preparation for a magic rite, and b) painting a dinosaur in preparation for a magic rite.

"No, she can understand you. She might even respond to you if you're lucky," Zach informed him.

(Lucky and polite,) I added.

I was very excited. I had been looking forward to the rite ever since I had spoken to Esteban, and I enjoyed getting painted up. I thought it was cool. My paint job was similar to Theodorus's in more ways than the obvious. I was wearing black paint the way a lifeguard wears sunscreen- liberally coated on my face, neck, shoulders, back and so on. Zach and Warren were helping with some of the finishing touches. I had white dots appropriate for Shining Mokole set in to double racing stripes nose-tip to tail-tip appropriate for a sports car. Actually, dotted stripes were no different to my usual decoration, but since I'd made the sports car association I could not let it go.

The afternoon sun would soon be setting. Our temple of crushed cars was fully assembled with the sacrifice resting on explosive-rigged cross beams directly above the restoree. Theodorus was parked in the adjacent paddock facing Ground Zero. The bull was tethered to the truck, looking equal parts bored and belligerent. At the top of the temple's platform we both had ritual components.

Warren had hoped to stick around for the ceremony. I couldn't blame him, I would have been curious too. Zach explained why he couldn't stay. Once he left, and we had everything we need in place, we commenced.

Had it been an average human corroboree, I would have started with a didgeridoo tone that built up in to an evocative opening crescendo. I did not currently possess the faculties to play a didgeridoo, but I could emulate one with a style. Zach and I stood facing the wrecked Lamborghini. I began my patient performance as the sun set. Gradually my music developed and Zach began an accompaniment with ritual hitting sticks. As he built the rhythm I diminished my music to begin my address. I first honoured the sun as it set. I honoured the Earth and the Triat, and both Volcano and Finch. I thanked Zach and Theodorus for their assistance with the ritual. I honoured the bull, recognizing its contribution to the ritual. I honoured the van, expressing my gratitude that it was worthy enough for the vital role it would play. I finally addressed the guest of honour, the totalled Lamborghini Jalpa.

I regaled the car with an explanation of what I intended, and my expectation that it was not objectionable. I thanked the car for the opportunity. I then fetched the bull and met Zach at the crown of the temple. I was standing on the hill, Zach stood on the temple itself at the far end of the sacrificial van, watching for the new moon. He had made markings on the bull showing me exactly where to puncture it for optimum Bloody Aztec Sacrifice results. I held the bull down on our improvised van roof/bull blood draining rack and waited for Zach's signal. I had never seen the chameleon with such an excited demeanor. His eyes were shining.

"Now," he breathed.

The bull screamed as I sliced in to it, but was quickly reduced to helpless wheezing. It struggled, so I strengthened my hold, and the pyramid rocked slightly. Ground Zero rattled, and I was suddenly blinded by Theodorus's lights. The bull subdued, and I was momentarily caught frozen like a stunned dinosaur in headlights. I winked at Theodorus and refocused on the task at hand.

"Dissolver, power of the fallen, decay, destruction, watch over our sacrifice of this bull and this van. What lived and gave life now draws near death, what served and was service worthy shall be destroyed. We welcome the Night."

The bull was very close to death, though only a few seconds had passed. My Aztec cohort certainly seemed to shtick when it came to blood letting. I snapped the remaining drain supports and dropped the corpse in to the van as Zach ignited the fuel. Sparks sizzled along the frame of the vehicle, white hot. Inside the van flames came to life, giving the windows an ominous ambiance. Irregular shadows flickered around like starlings. The outer paint was seared with savage looking residual scorch marks from Shade's initial fire rigging. We descended opposite sides of the temple and faced the entombed Lamborghini.

"Lamborghini Jalpa P3500, it is our intention to restore you to your greatest glory. The youth you lost in the past shall be brought back to by yours again. We honour those who shaped your life." Zach started a small fire in front of the car. I had ready a collection of papers we had prepared before the ritual. For each previous owner of the car we had made up a symbolic, inauthentic resurrection-ritual-purposes-only bill of sale and, where appropriate, a write off or insurance claim.

"Your most recent owner was I, Kate Kookaburra-Collins. I release you from this time." I handed Zach my bill of sale. He dropped it in to his fire where it instantly flamed away. "You came to me through Giuliano Abadasore. I release you from those years. Be burdened by them no longer." I gave Zach the Giuliano paperwork to incinerate. We proceeded to release the car from all of its previous owners. I was half hoping-expecting to see the car youthen before my eyes, but it didn't happen. The fire in the van above it continued to crackle and steadily grow, and was burning bight like a lamp-van by the time we were done. Having recounted the personal history of the car, we orally described the Jalpa's place in the history of the Lamborghini line, it's relationship to the Silhouette and the Countach, and generally reinforced the Lamborghini brand as a glorious, exclusive exotic.

The fire in the flaming van had become intense. The van shone darkly in Theodorus's headlights. Its body appeared baked dark but glimpsed in the shadows the fringes of the panels glowed hotly orange. The fire was flashing wildly within it. We climbed back to the top of the shrine to address the fire.

"In order to aid the Lamborghini Jalpa 3500 in it's return to glory, we offer these gifts. May the power of these tokens combine their strengths with those of your own." I had a small cluster of items waiting on my side of the alter. The first was a sports car magazine. I held it up to the burning van. The fire crackled and plinked. "This ritual will make you a new car again. New cars are magnificent things. They are beautiful to behold, a luxury to drive, they sound amazing and they even smell great. This magazine's pages are dedicated to the celebration of new cars- their visual beauty, state of the art technology, and details regarding performance. With this gift you will remember what it is like to feel brand new." I dropped the magazine in to the fire through the now non-existent punched-in roof. The growing tribute growled, hungrily accepting the magazine. "Your turn," I said to Zach. I backed away as he approached with his offering. As I watched him, I noticed in the background Theodorus seemed to be glowing with an ambient halo, but it was hard to tell with his headlights blazing ahead.

Zach held up a feather. "The Eagle is a noble bird. He is a swift hunter, striking his prey with speed and precision. The feather is a primary wing feather generously given by Eagle. This feather represents speed and control, both power and the wisdom to harness that power. In casting this feather in to the flames, may this power become part of this warrior- ah, automobile." Zach dropped the feather inside the van. Suddenly a bright arc of light shot from Theodorus's hood and blasted the van before jumping down to the Lamborghini. Streams of energy writhed across the body of the van like electric seaweed. As suddenly as it had appeared, the arc vanished. Theodorus roared, sending a shiver down my spine. The fire sacrifice answered eagerly. It regarded me as I dragged my next offering to the fire. The offering was a fully wrapped pallet.

"Lamborghini is an Italian brand synonymous with luxurious, stylish exorbitance. To be a Lamborghini is to be instantly recognized, but exquisite and rare and owned only by the rich. To represent the glory of expensive Italian brands, I offer these Vedovelli shoes. I hefted the pallet on to my shoulder, tore it open and started scooping the shoe boxes in to the fire. When I was done I dumped the pallet in too. "That's great. I was wondering what I was going to do with those," I commented, dusting my hands.

Theodorus's engine rose again, the wandering arcs more numerous this time. They amassed on the van which shrieked ecstatically. They also teased themselves over the body of the Lamborghini, and a few of them even embraced me. I sang in sudden alarm, but the beams were in no way painful. Rather I felt empowered and directed by the manifest energy of the ritual.

"You look like New York City by night," Zach said.

"What?" I was confused until Zach motioned at me. My painted spots were shining light bright stars... or even bright headlights. The black paint had taken on the inky deep darkness of a midwinter midnight sky. "Wow!" I exclaimed. Even from my perspective I was dazzling. "Your go, Zach."

The chameleon once more approached the fire. "Warriors -and cars- must be strong. Warriors -cars- must be fearless. W- cars- must be patient. Alligator well represents these virtues. Alligator patiently waits for the opportune time to strike, just as you will see long hours of waiting between calls for immediate action. Alligator is the king of his swamps and travels without fear, just as you must travel the paths which lie ahead without faltering. Alligator's strength is apparent in every inch from his iron jaws to his powerful tail. I bequeath upon you this token, that you may remember and exemplify Alligator's virtues."

When he had finished speaking, he scattered a small handful of alligator teeth in to the sacrifice. The flames leapt around his hands like goldfish surfacing for food. With every drop, an arc of energy sprang across Ground Zero, tangling around Theodorus, the Jalpa, the van and Zach. The web thrashed between its points like a loose tarp in a hurricane. Where the beams of power crossed the chameleon's skin, they left bright trails like a crayon with the brightness of a laser pointer. Within a few seconds Zach was covered in a phosphorescent network of tributaries that covered his exposed skin and bled in to his natural patterning, highlighting the details. He was radiant.

"Alligator teeth? Feathers? Wow, you searched long and hard for those things," I said sarcastically. "What did you spend, like, twenty minutes finding that stuff in my yard here?"

"I spent three days in a swamp looking for those," Zach retorted.

"Pfft. That's where you holiday! That's like a kid going to the beach and trying to make finding shells sound like hard work."

"What have you got that's so hard to come by, then?"

"Something I spent a whole afternoon looking for in Greenwich Village, Manhattan! It was awful! But worth it." I approached the van holding a large, flat parcel. It was becoming difficult to make out the vehicle anymore. Ground Zero, Theodorus, the temple, the Jalpa and the van were by now all covered in a jittering, shimmering spiderweb of frantically wriggling energy arcs. Within the mesh the van had gone from heated red to orange hot, its outline barely discernible. It's fighting spirit was now perceivable, bound to the ceremony, revelling in it. The fire roared impatiently as I approached with my final gift.

"I have given you gifts to remind you what it is like to be new, and remind you what it means to be super stylish and Italian. Finally, to take you back to the days of your youth, I give you this classic piece of memorabilia." I discarded the paper packaging to reveal a vinyl LP. "Michael Jackson's _Bad_." I announced, holding it over the fire. "It's from the same year as you. As a bad eighties icon yourself, I'm sure you will be able to relate to this. Enjoy." I dropped the record in to the fire. The spirit within howled as sparks flew in to the night sky. The form of the van was beginning to warp as if what it contained was fast outgrowing it. I ducked my head low and and laughed in manic excitement as my cauldron bubbled. "This is awesome! You're up, Zach!"

Zach choked on barely-contained laughter as he took the stage for the last time in the ceremony. Though his eyes danced (independently) with suppressed mirth, his voice was solemn when he spoke again. "The last of my three gifts is a symbol of rebirth, of a return to life after tragedy. The poppy blooms in fields laid to waste by war, standing on the boundary between great loss and return to life. Know that the road to ruin does not have to end in ruin. Remember the poppy. Remember the long battles behind you, but remember also that your greatest triumphs lie ahead. With these seeds, your past is consigned to memory, and the road to your future stretches ahead."

Zach poured the handful of seeds in to the fire. The wild blaze seemed to have reached the peak of its frenzy. As the seeds fell in to the maelstrom, the colour of the van began to change blood red. Gradually the colouring flooded the entire mass.

The bull and the other contributions to the rite were not visible within the wild hungry spirit fire that filled the van. I stepped forward with a final token. "On behalf of Theodorus, I bring you this," I held up one of Theodorus's tires. "From one vehicle to another, may your days on the road and highways be many. Travel fast, travel far, travel safe." I dropped the tire in to the mix. The fire roared for even more. "Mmmm!" I was very pleased with the ritual so far. I looked at Zach for the next step.

"It's nearly midnight," he said. Let it simmer for a few more minutes."

When the sky was right by Zach's estimation, we continued. "Devisor, power of creation, growth and life, watch over our offerings and this Lamborghini Jalpa 3500 we offer to. From many benefactors we accept vitality, and what was destroyed shall be returned to life. We welcome the Morning."

I activated the final fuse, the one rigged to the explosives which- through the power of the rite- remained unperturbed by the mystical fire. Tiny powerful charges beneath the van simultaneously blasted its underside open and blew out the supports holding it up. The components of the van and the shell of the vehicle itself dropped on to the write-off, covering it in a huge lump of glowing hot molten debris. The pile screamed and hissed as the masses met each other. The ubiquitous arcs of energy swarmed the heap, abandoning the rest of Ground Zero to pace electrically over the brain coral-like mass of sacrifice and restoree.

"Oooh! This is so exciting! I can't wait!" I twittered.

"You're not done yet," Zach reminded me.

"I know."

We descended the temple for the last official time. As the mystic fire burned out we continued the corroboree. I could not take my eyes off the pile. We spent a lot of the rest of the night encouraging the car and celebrating. After several hours the sky began to lighten and birds began to call. I watched the stars fade from the sky, those on my body paint dulling and disappearing at the same time. Zach too was losing his luminescence as the sky lightened and the ritual fire ran its course and cooled. As daybreak approached, all that remained was a huge solid lump of blackened metal. I concluded my performance and addressed Ground Zero for the final time.

"Designer, power of order, stasis and permanence, reveal to us the fruits of our labour. What was destroyed is now returned to life, and was has life is now restored to glory. We welcome the Day." As I finished speaking, the first rays of sunlight escaped the glowing horizon. We watched the sun rise. Its rays swept slowly down over the remains of the pyramid. Where the morning light hit the Lamborghini's shell, the faintest wisp of smoke dawdled in to the air, leaving behind a fine powdery ash in place of the congealed black metal.

Patiently we waited for the sun to rise fully. I was feeling somewhat exhausted but kind of high and still totally captivated by the process. Gradually she cleared Theodorus and rose overhead, bathing the cocoon in light. Smoke billowed silently like dry ice streams. My tired eyes were so wide open I felt like they were about to fall out of my face. I couldn't stop grinning. We continued the coroboree, slowing down and drawing to a close as the smoke dwindled and disappeared.

Finally, after hours of waiting, we stood in front of the huge pile of ash. I glanced at Zach, and dipped my head. "...Can I...?"

"Go ahead," he grinned.

"Yes!" I bobbed excitedly on my ankles, causing everything in the yard to suddenly shudder. I carefully scooped the ash from the top of the pile to reveal a dusty smooth and clear black car roof. I gave a short sharp scream. "I think it worked!"

Painfully resisting the urge to rush, I carefully cleared the dust from the car.

The Lamborghini had in the process of the rite changed from bright green to black. Every inch of the car was as new as the day it was new. "It worked! It worked! I can't believe it worked!" I hooted. "This is so great!" I stood for a moment, my mind overwhelmed with and racing to decide what to do next. I badly wanted to drive the car, but I didn't want to touch it until I'd had a shower. After a moment of deliberation I finished totally clearing away the loads of ash before heading in to my abode to clean up.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

I banged on the glass with my palm. "Open up! I know you're in there!"

Daedalus appeared in the window of his residence above the pie shop. "Kate? What do you want?"

"I want to buy some pie, dammit! Let me in!"

"What the hell? Do you know what time it is?"

"I'm serious! Let me in, or so help me I'll let myself in!"

"Just a minute," he called, disappearing from the window. I waited a few moments for him to get down stairs and open the front door.

"Thank you," I said as he let me in.

"What's up?"

"Not much. You?"

"I'm fine. What do you need?"

"I'd like a cherry pie, a coconut cream pie and an apricot pie, please," I answered. Nines raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"You actually want pie?"

"That's what I said!"

"I thought you were talking in code and there was some big emergency! All you want is pie!"

"I also want to show you my new car. Pie first, though."

Daedalus warned me that the pies were a day old already, but that was fine with me. He helped me carry the pies out. The corax's eyes grew wide when he saw the car.

"Shiny!" he said.

"It's my brand, BRAND new Lamborghini Jalpa," I said.

"_Jalpa_," the bird read the car's badge with the correct Spanish pronunciation.

"Yeah, that's what Zach kept saying," I said dismissively. "Would you like a ride?"

"You know how much I love a ride!"

"That's what I thought you would say. Get in."

The interior of the car was also black, the finishing trim a soft icy white. "I finished restoring it this morning." I started the engine. It purred like a Tyrannosaurus. "We used a rite. It's pretty much brand new now. Do you drive manual transmission?"

We took the car on a cruise through the city before heading back out to the junkyard and really testing it on speed limit free rural roads. The Jalpa made it home a lot faster than Theodorus. I pulled in to the junkyard and parked the car. I paused for a moment, collecting my thoughts, but mostly just savouring the drive.

"Why are we parked?" Daedalus asked slowly with the tone of someone asking a question they're afraid to have answered.

"Because I want to talk to you, you little shit. Don't interrupt me or I'll make you wish you hadn't!" I warned as he opened his mouth.

"'Kay," he stopped.

"Okay. Listen. We like you a lot. You're smart in a fight and one of the most valuable allies Zach and I have. I really appreciate it when you back me up, and I don't mind giving you a ride. But I am not a prop! If you want to play up your own glory, go nuts! Don't put me down to do it. I trust your eyes and I will do as you direct, but I won't wear reigns. When I'm fighting, I'm fighting, not grand standing. I am not your badass ride. _This_ is a badass ride," I said, stroking the steering wheel.

I handed him the keys. "It's yours if you want it."


End file.
